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Death toll from Riau boat accident rises to 15
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Patrol boats are deployed in the search for passengers of a wooden boat that capsized in near Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands, on Sunday morning. Authorities confirmed on Monday that 15 people had died and only two had survived the incident, which was blamed on bad weather. (JP/Fadli)
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uthorities have recovered five more bodies of passengers of a capsized wooden boat in Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands, bringing to 15 the total number of casualties.
The other two of the 17 people on board the vessel, locally known as a pompong, survived the incident. Ten bodies were found not long after the incident took place on Sunday morning.
The victims include six men and nine women, Tanjungpinang Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) chief Abdul Hamid said on Monday. Two survivors, Rasti Rina Sasih (25) and Said Ismarullah (36) are currently in being treated at the Tanjungpinang Regional Hospital.
The incident had been caused by bad weather, according to statements from the survivors and data from the local Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Abdul said. There were strong winds in the location, just off Bintan Pura Port, at the time of the incident at 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., causing high waves and heavy rain. Most of the victims were tourists heading to the local tourist destination of Penyengat Island, a 15-minutes boat ride from the port.
Meanwhile, the Transportation Ministry’s director general for land transportation, Pudji Hartanto Iskandar, expressed regret over what he said was a habit of passengers of not wearing life jackets at sea. The former Riau Islands police chief urged people and authorities to heed safety measures on public transportation. (rin)
